29/09/2025
STAR๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ: ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด
โWhen I grow up, I want to be aโโ
Echoing with endless possibilities, those nine words are often left with only a few more or sometimes are even trailed with ones that remain unfinished. For many, the answer would be doctor, lawyer, police, firefighter, or even a President of the country and in time, they would find themselves walking through the familiar halls they once imagined. Yet, things turned out differently for Mr. Mark Lester โSir Xiaoโ Sales. The plan was to take the first path, but at some point his steps led him somewhere entirely unexpectedโtoward a dream he had almost never pictured yet one that is surely close to his heart.
As a young man, Sir Xiao once dreamed of serving God through the priesthood. It was his first and greatest vocational goal and so, he took the risk and embraced his ambition. He has this will to dedicate his life to God and to others, a path he believed would allow him to live out his faith fully. But when that door closed, he came to realize that it was not the plan God had written for him. Instead, he was led to another vocationโteachingโa lesson unplanned but took him to places where his heart truly belonged.
After a few chapters, he found himself in the classroom, where he discovered a new way to share his values and beliefs, guiding young minds toward finding their own purpose in life. Now, as a Grade 12 Christian Living Formation (CLF) teacher in the UNO-R Senior High School Department, Sir Xiao sees teaching not just as a profession, but as a calling from God. In that way, he knows that he is living out his true purpose; to serve God and his people with the gifts he was given. This is himโin a different vocationโanswering to the journey the Lord has planned for him as it also gives him the opportunity to grow and discover new things, together with his students.
Sir Xiao firmly believes that this unexpected path of his has shaped him to what he is today. As he brings the dream of his childhood, the ministry of teaching taught him humility, patience, and perseverance, and at the same time, it has given him the privilege to proclaim the values and teachings of God as a CLF teacher. This redirection in his life is a testament to his response to the mission God has given him using his gifts in teaching as a way of giving back to the community and living out his faith.
Despite being vocal about his love for priesthood, Sir Xiao had already given his passion for teaching because he had already learned how to love and find joy in his own ministry. Nonetheless, for his younger self, a message will be surely delivered: โBe open to life's surprises because the future is uncertain.โ With that, the unplanned switch of his story left a rhetoric meaning to future educatorsโnever stop learning the reality and forever cherish your heart, your young ambition might lead you to an unexpected yet meaningful future.
Dreaming of what we hope to reach is one of the best parts of childhood, they say. For some, fulfilling it becomes a dream come true; for others, the words โI want to beโฆโ remain unfulfilled promises from childhood. But for Sir Xiao, despite having an unplanned dream, the phrase at last had found its true ending. With the grace of his first path, as he walks by every corridor of the university, and carries the knowledge of truth and goodness, he can finally say, โNow that I am a grown man, I still want to serve God, and I will share His love by being a teacher.โ
